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Mass protests put pressure on Egypt’s first democratically elected leader

by AirTalk

Egyptian opposition protesters celebrate on July 1, 2013 in Cairo's landmark Tahrir square after Egypt's armed forces gave President Mohamed Morsi 48 hours to meet the demands of the people or it would intervene with a roadmap. The statement comes a day after millions took to the street demanding that Morsi resigns. An official from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood said the powerful movement was 'studying' the army's statement. Egypt is deeply divided between Morsi's Islamist supporters and a broad-based opposition.GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images

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The Egyptian Army has called on President Mohamed Morsi and all political groups to resolve the country’s protests or face intervention within 48 hours. The military’s statement, which describes the protests as peaceful and calls for the people’s demands to be heard, seems to undermine the President and puts significant pressure the Muslim Brotherhood Party to take action. Hours after they released the statement, the military flew helicopters above Cairo’s Tahrir Square and dropped Egyptian flags while blaring on loudspeakers that “the army and the people are one hand.” The President, meanwhile, has vowed to remain in office, which makes military intervention seem inevitable.

What’s next for Egypt, and what has the international response been to this weekend’s protests?

Guests:Borzou Daraghai, covers North Africa and the Middle East for the Financial Times; he is based in Cairo, Egypt.

Khaled Elgindy, Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute